Angie and Ally knew that Katie would never say 'no' to a dare. It was always a matter of misplaced sense of pride for their friend and the girls always knew how to exploit that.

Katie knew that she was as crazy as her friends when she uttered the words that would change the course of her whole life.

“Fine. I’m in.”

Chapter 6: Hogsmeade weekend, part 1

The morning of the Hogsmeade weekend came much too soon for Katie’s liking. For the past week, she’d been coming up with excuses to get out of her promise to Cormac. Unfortunately, nothing had worked; he had rebutted all of her excuses and had come up with a few solutions for her imaginary problems. He had even offered her a Soothing Potion when she complained about cramps. And here she was now, ready to scream out in frustration.

He had been waiting for her in the common room, half-heartedly scolding her for being late. Later at breakfast, she'd learnt from Ginny Weasley that he had tried to climb the stairs to get her. To make matters worse, they both had ended up wearing a red jumper and jeans. Of course, his clothes were prettier. She had wanted to change, but Cormac had found it hilarious and said it was a lucky omen for their budding relationship. Katie had been embarrassed beyond words; even her Housemates’ faces had shown embarrassment on her behalf.

Then, the idiot had sat next to her during breakfast, ‘accidently’ touching her thigh or brushing the side of her chest the whole time. On top of that, Millicent over at the Slytherin table kept watching their every move, adding anxiety to her frustration. Of course, that also had to be the moment Flint’s owl dropped one of his unwanted letters on her plate.

Cormac had snatched it from her plate while demanding that she’d spend her attention on him, which had earned him a well-deserved peck from Flint’s owl, making his well-manicured finger bleed profusely. That had given her enough distraction to take the letter back and tuck it in her pocket. In the process, she had ‘accidently’ kicked him in the shins. Katie wasn’t a violent person, but something about Cormac brought out the worst in her.

And, here they were, wandering out and about as she counted down the seconds until she could end this charade. Being near him was becoming increasingly unbearable with each passing second, more so than usual. He had been complaining non-stop about deranged owls, his frustration about being a Quidditch reserve, and everything and anyone else in between that rubbed him the wrong way. Katie expected that after today, she'd probably be on that list because she doubted that he would make it through the day unscathed. She was bound to hex him eventually. Why oh why had she agreed to this?

‘You were thinking about shagging, you slag.’

As expected, the little village was packed with students enjoying their day away from school grounds. With barely contained jealousy, Katie watched her schoolmates have fun while she was ready to jump off the nearest bridge.

‘Or, push Cormac off it.’ She had the snigger at the mental imagine of seeing him crash to the ground in high-speed. How glorious would that feel? ‘"Try him on for size," she said. Fucking Ally and her no good fucking advice.’

Cormac chose that moment to put his arm around her shoulders and pull her closer, too close. “Kay-tee,” he whispered, spitting in her ear in the process.

His warm breath on her cold skin gave Katie the shivers, just not the good, toe-curling ones he was aiming for. It only made her want to rub her skin raw.

“What?” she barked and not so subtly tried to push his arm off. As expected, he didn't pick up on the not so subtle hint.

“Do you want something from Honeydukes? We’ll go to Madam Puddifoot’s for tea after that. My treat, of course.”

Puddifoot’s was out the question; he would have to drag her dead body there and even then, she would find a way to resurrect herself and jump off that bridge she'd been thinking about earlier. She wasn’t that romantically challenged, thank you very much.

Katie quickly glanced at the sweets shop in the distance. She could go for something to nibble, but Honeydukes was packed, bursting out the seams with students. Shuffling shoulder to shoulder in such a crowded little shop wasn't high on her want-to-do-list, certainly not with Cormac by her side, but she did want sweets. Maybe...

“I’d love some Sugar Quills,” she told him sweetly and took a step back, furiously batting her eyelashes. “Can you get them for me? I’ll wait here.”

Her tone left no room for argument and Cormac went off to get the desired candy. He turned around every few steps to make sure that she was waiting where she said she would. As soon as he disappeared into the shop, Katie sighed in relief and looked around for possible escape routes; there was no need in dragging this day out any longer. Hopefully, it would take him ages to return, and by then, she'd be long gone.

Further down the street, Katie noticed Flint’s cousin and her pug-nosed friend. Both girls were talking to a rather nice looking bloke, another Slytherin.

‘What’s his name? Nobbs, Nogg?’

The way Millicent blushed each time the bloke spoke to her was adorable, which made Katie's brows shoot up to her hairline. She had never imagined the girl to be, well, a girl. Millicent’s whole stance changed when a rather bored-looking blonde girl joined them. She seemed nice to the girls, but when the boy put his arm around her waist, her whole frame froze in irritation. She scowled but didn’t shake off his arm.

‘Do I look like that when I’m with McLaggen?’

Most interesting was Millicent’s expression; from shy smiles and lovely blushes, it turned to that ever-present angry glower.

‘Poor girl, she must fancy him.’

Katie was so engrossed in the little drama unfolding before her eyes that she forgot to escape McLaggen or pay attention to the other happenings around her. That's why she didn’t notice the large figure approach her until he stood behind her and leant down to whisper in her ear.

“Surprise, Princess.”

Katie's breath hitched in her throat; she’d recognise that voice out of thousands. How could she not? Ever since their first encounter, it had been dominating her dreams and fantasies.

She slowly turned, silently debating whether she should face him or run off like a bat out of hell. As soon as she laid eyes on him, her decision fell on the former. He stood in full glory: windswept hair, a red-tipped nose, and flashing his crooked teeth in a broad grin. She tried hard but eventually won the battle to resist the urge to counter his grin with one of her own.

“Did you miss me, love?” he asked and took a step closer.

‘Yes.’

“Surprisingly enough, no,” she replied tartly and folded her arms.

‘They say I’m your girl.’

His broad grin turned into a smirk. “Are you sure about that?”

Katie hummed in reply and tilted her chin to stare him down even though he was much taller than she was.

“I don’t believe you. You were too eager to use that first Portkey I'd sent you,” Marcus countered and took another step closer.

“A mistake on my part. Let’s keep it at a momentary lapse in sanity,” Katie retorted in fake nonchalance. In reality, she was starting to feel weak in the knees.

‘Why do you have to smell so nice? It’s distracting.’

Suddenly, he was very close, his body almost touching hers. His warm breath sent shivers down her spine -the good ones this time- when he leant in and murmured in her ear.

“Really now? You didn’t use it because you wanted another go?”

‘Yes, I did. Please, can we do it again? Again and again and again…Maybe, we can try out other things too.’

Katie shook her head; she wasn’t sure if it was to clear her mind or to rebuff him. “Don’t flatter yourself, Flint. It wasn’t all that good.”

Even to her own ears, it sounded unbelievable. But he was so close that he made her head spin, and she couldn't give in even though all wanted was to rest against his chest. She remembered lying comfortably on it that night.

“Liar,” he whispered in her ear again, making her poor knees even weaker.

‘Yes, I lied. I need punishment. Punish me, please…’

He was so close again, those deep grey eyes hypnotising her, and no doubt thinking the same things that she was: getting naked and doing unmentionable things. Katie felt a blush crawl up her cheeks; her whole body was probably a bright red now. Her eyes focussed on his lips, now so close to hers. She wanted to lick them just to see if they still tasted like Firewhisky. Her hands reached out and firmly clutched onto his robes for support.

‘Almost, just a little closer now. Come closer, please.’

The sound of two throats clearing broke the magic moment and Katie jumped away from Marcus. She could swear that he growled in frustration, just as she did. Cormac stood there gawking at her, in his hands he held what seemed to be a bouquet of Sugar Quills while Millicent threw annoyed glances between the three of them, tapping her foot as usual.

“What’s going on here?”

Chapter 7: Hogsmeade weekend, part 2

‘Come on! I was so close.’

Katie wanted to stomp her feet in frustration and curse Millicent and that idiot Cormac for interrupting a potential good snog. However, seeing the former's dark scowl, she quickly decided against it. It would probably turn into a fight she'd never win.

“Hi,” Katie greeted them sheepishly instead as she tried to put some respectable distance between herself and Flint before she gave into the urge to climb him like she had done the first time they had met.

Not that it would have been that bad, but they weren't alone this time around and most of the Hogwarts students had the ability to put Rita Skeeter to shame with their gossiping. Seeing that they were right in the middle of Hogsmeade with Hogwarts out for the weekend, she needed the minimise the damage before word got back to her parents.

Some of her schoolmates had already gathered around in curiosity, eyeing them like they were owls on display at the Magical Menagerie. That annoying Colin Creevey had his camera out, waiting for the money shot. Katie had no doubt that the little wanker had connections to the Prophet.

Flint, undisturbed by the attention, pulled her closer when she moved away a step too far for his liking. She had to admit, the way his arm curled around her waist felt good. His big hand lay just beneath her breasts over her jacket, and she couldn’t help but stare at his fingers. There was something about big, hairy hands.

‘What was it that Alicia said; you can do it while the bloke is holding you up? I bet Marcus is strong enough. But how would it work, though?’

“Katie? Hullo?” Cormac snapped his fingers in her face in an attempt to gain her attention.

“What?” she hissed, pissed off that the git dared to interrupt her fantasy. It took her a few seconds to realise that they were in the middle of…something. What was it? “Oh, yes. You were saying?”

“What’s going on? What are you doing with him?” Cormac asked as he cocked his head at Flint.

“Nothing, just chatting about the weather,” Katie tried to sound casual, but it came out far too high-pitched.

Flint chuckled in her ear as his hand crept closer up to her breasts. Perhaps she ought to unzip her jacket for him to grope her more easily. Her hands were already on her zipper when she noticed Cormac’s eyes bulging out their sockets. So, no unzipping, then.

“I mean, it-it's beautiful weather for the time of year.”

"Absolutely gorgeous," Flint agreed behind her. He put his hand on her bum, squeezing it just enough to make her jump up.

“Yeah, right, the weather,” Millicent muttered as she rolled her eyes. "And I'm a beauty queen."

‘Not helping at all, you crow. You’re supposed to be on my side.’

“Chatting? That close?” Cormac frowned as his cheeks reddened in anger when his eye caught Flint's other wandering hand. The Sugar Quills crumbled in his fist. “Why is he holding you like that? You’re supposed to be my date for today.”

Marcus’ hold on her tightened as whispered in her ear, “Who’s the prick?”

His warm breath tickled her cold skin, sending another shiver down her spine. Gods, he smelled nice.

‘Dammit, Katie! Focus. Introduce them before Cormac ruins the Quills.’

“Well?” both men asked in unison.

The situation was getting uncomfortable. Even more so than the time she had walked in on George and Ally at the WWW and caught her friend on her knees and her head between her boyfriend’s thighs. The thumbs up George had given her when he noticed Katie standing in the door opening had been the worst part. It had taken her ages before she'd been able to look at both of them without turning a tomato red.

‘Gods, now I’m stuck with that image again.’

“Flint, this is my, uhm, friend, Cormac,” Katie started awkwardly.

She wasn’t sure how to handle herself or the situation. After all, it wasn’t an everyday occurrence that one introduced the bloke she shagged to the bloke she very, very briefly thought about using for the same purpose. How would Angie handle this? She was bound to have some experience with these kinds of things.

“Cormac, meet Marcus Flint. My, uhm, my…” What was he to her? She had no idea on how to word it and turned her head for a little help. He had come to see her, so he must have thought about something, right?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it, Marcus had an idea about it, all right. If she'd been able to see Cheshire Cat-like grin on his face, she wouldn't have asked him.

“I’m Marcus,” he stated and then waved his hand between Katie and himself, waggling his brows. “We're shagging.”

Millicent gasped scandalised, Cormac growled and threw the Sugar Quills to the ground, even the crowd around them stilled in shock, soon followed by an excited buzzing. Colin Creevey was already snapping pictures, counting the Galleons he'd make. And Katie?

She froze at the statement. She had wanted to call him her almost-boyfriend, good friend, or something like that, certainly not what he just said. It sounded so crude when you put it that way and made her feel cheap.

More forcefully, she stepped away from Marcus’ hold. Being held by him didn’t seem right anymore. Even if it were for a few minutes, her romantic fantasies had held potential again after that screaming hag debacle. And now, he had to ruin it all over again by opening his big gob.

“Uhm, that's, ah, not good,” Katie began, embarrassed beyond words. But, what was there to say? She didn’t owe Cormac an explanation, barely knew Millicent, and as far as she was concerned, Flint could jump off the bridge she'd wanted to push Cormac off. In other terms, it was time to leave.

“Wow, look at the time. I need to go.” She turned around and took off without a single glance back.

‘Fucking Angie and Ally, filling my head with this sex rubbish.’

Normally, Katie wasn’t one for dramatic exits, but it would have been nice if someone had come running after her. Flint did call, she had to give him that, but he didn’t count since he was the reason her day had gone from bad to a bit better to 'please Earth, split open and swallow me whole'. With that in mind, her only response was flipping him the bird without turning around.

Back in her dormitory, Katie drew the curtains around her bed and didn’t emerge until late in the evening with a letter clutched in her hand. As she watched the owl fly away some time later, she knew that she had to forget all about Flint because what he’d done was unforgivable.

It was easier said than done, though; the thick-headed tosser had spell-o-taped himself onto her mind and for the life of her, she couldn't get rid of him.

*****KM*****

“Just like that? She walked away, and you have no idea why?” Adrian chuckled in his glass.

Marcus shook his head and downed his drink. He had never felt this miserable about a girl before. Not even when Georgina Goyle told him that she’d rather clean a dragon's den than snog him in his fourth year. Bell was supposed to be a one-time thing, not be on his mind day and night. And now, he had cocked it all up before it had begun and he didn’t even know what he’d done wrong.

“She must be mental, mate. Leaving you like that after you announce in the middle of Hogsmeade that you’ve shagged her. A head case, I tell ya',” Terence consoled as he tried hard to keep his voice steady and avoided eye contact with Adrian.

Marcus nodded, relieved that his friends understood his confusion. Instead of enjoying a nice lunch in Diagon Alley with Bell, he was drowning his sorrows with Firewhisky in his father's old study. Here he was, wanting to do something nice for a girl for the first time in his life and all he had managed was to piss her off.

“I still don’t understand. Then Millie goes and tells me I’m an idiot and that she is ashamed to be related to me. Maybe, it’s a woman thing?”

‘Gods, let it be a woman thing. Perhaps, she has a deficiency like Sophia, and I got lucky?’

“What about Goldilocks you said was with her? Perhaps, she had her eyes on him, and you’ve ruined that for her?” Adrian was nearly hyperventilating in his determination not to laugh.

Marcus shook his head, if Bell were really after that poofter, he'd gladly take a Bludger to the head. “I’ve watched them for nearly an hour before I caught her alone. She looked like she was about to set him on fire several times. But, what do I know? Could be normal behaviour for her.”

Terence poured another round of Firewhisky. The whole story was too hilarious, and booze would make it even better. “What happened to the boyfriend?”

“According to Millie, he’s her ex-boyfriend. He challenged me to a duel. I dunno, I think he’s still waiting somewhere for me,” Marcus said shrugging, not interested in the boy. “What am I gonna do about Bell?”

“Start with an apology-” Adrian started, only to be interrupted by Marcus.

“For what? I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be sorry for!” He wondered if he shouldn’t have stuck to his string of those one-night witches. At least he knew what to expect from them.

“What about telling everyone and their uncle about shagging her? Think about it, mate. Girls usually don’t like people knowing their business. Eh, girls like her, anyway,” Adrian explained, “How would you feel if someone said something like that about Millie?”

That was a sore spot for Marcus. “I'd cut them into ribbons if someone hurt Millie.”

He was overly protective of his little cousin, they were a close-knit family, and it had been ingrained from the moment she had been born to look after her. No one messed with his family. Then the Knut dropped, and his face fell. “Ah, Merlin’s bloody balls. I just wanted to get rid of the idiot.”

“Yeah, so apology first and then we’ll move on to Plan B, as we've discussed,” Adrian answered easily and took a bite from the sandwich Crumpet had prepared.

“What’s plan B?” Since Sophia had the tendency to pry information from him and use it against others, none of his friends trusted Terence with confidential information anymore. Lucky for him, his wife left for a long trip to ‘find herself’. He just hoped that she would fall off a cliff somewhere. “Tell me.”

“Where's the missus?” Marcus and Adrian threw him suspicious looks, the last time they’d confided something in him it had cost Warrington his engagement. He still wasn’t talking to them.

“Gone on a very long and a very distant trip.” Terence grinned broadly and waggled his brows. “Now, tell me.”

That seemed to mollify the boys and Adrian went on to explain the plan he and Marcus had concocted after Bell had used the first Portkey. It was elaborate, nearly impossible, and it needed lots of planning, persuasion, and many Galleons. Luckily, Adrian was able to help with the first two; his job as Deputy Head at the Department of Magical Games and Sports allowed him certain privileges. Marcus had the money for the necessary bribes.

“That seems a bit far-fetched. And this will work how exactly?” Terence didn’t look all too convinced. Actually, it was a ridiculous plan, but he'd wait with saying that aloud until he heard the details.

Marcus looked at Adrian since he wasn’t sure himself how the plan was supposed to work. He had preferred to go straight to Plan C; drag Bell by the hair to his bedroom and never let her out. But, Pucey had blocked him on that one and moved that to option Z. Something about cavemen behaviour and had gone for hours and hours about wooing the girl and whatnot. How was he, Marcus Flint, supposed to woo a girl? He was hardly Myron Wagtail. The only thing he was good at was Quidditch and managing his father’s business.

“It will allow this idiot to spend time with the chit and let her know that he’s not only after getting into her knickers.” Adrian narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Am I right? You want more than getting into her pants?”

‘Fucking Pucey and his morals.’

Marcus felt caught because, in all honesty, he hadn’t thought about Bell further than getting her alone. “No, not only her knickers. I want all of her.”

‘Preferably without the knickers or at the very least, easy access.’

Neither of his friends looked convinced, but they let it slip for now. The prospect of planning and scheming was an exciting one, and they for one weren’t passing on it. It was Hogwarts all over again with the only difference that they were older, more experienced, and had unlimited resources at their disposal.